The Storehouses of the King

f Egypt, as well as the union of the works of those great men living at different periods of time as rulers of Egypt-Joseph and Moses.

s been regarded as an accompaniment, and sometimes even as a rival, to the Pyramids. The latest information in regard to this stupen

e bottom of the trench; for, in spite of every precaution, the slightest breath of wind, or concussion, set all the surrounding particles of sand in motion, so that the sloping sides began to crumble away, and mass after mass to come tumbling down, till the whole surface bore no unapt resemblance to a cascade of water. Even when the sides appeared most firm, if the labourers suspended their work but for an hour, they found on

front. On this pavement, and at an equal distance between the paws of the figure, was the large slab of granite just mentioned, being not less than fourteen feet high, seven broad, and two thick. The face of this stone, which fronted the east, was highly embellished with sculptures in bas-r

ed part of a miniature temple, by being placed one on each side of the latter, and at right angles to it. One of them, in fact

of which, as well as the tablets, walls, and platforms on which the little temple stood, were ornamented with red paint, a colour which seems to have been, in Egypt as well as in India, appropriated to sacred purposes. In f

d digit of the same was sculptured, in pretty deep letters, an inscription in verse, of which the subjoined translation was given by the late Dr. Young, wh

ndous here the g

pot of harvest

mighty work of

encumber'd o

hinx that Thebes e

na's servant,

ince beloved who

ns, and calls t

monarch who hi

werful, and li

rt as it was half a century ago; and, consequently, it now meets the ey

if it were too heavy for its support. The head-dress has the appearance of an old-fashioned wig, projecting out about the ears like the hair of the Berberi Arabs;[47] the ears project considerably, the nose is broken, the whole face has been painted red, which is the colour assigned to the ancient inhabitants of Egypt, and to all the deities of the country exce

three in height. According to Dr. Richardson, the stretch of the back is about a hundred and twenty feet, and the elevation of the head above the sand from thirty to thirty-five, a result which accords pretty nearly with the measurement of Cout

. Pococke that there is an entrance both in the back and in the top of the head, the latter of which, he thinks, might serve

s to pierce the Sphinx; the result, in the b

get them out, and on the 21st of July[48] gunpowder was used for that purpose; but, being unwilling to disfigure this venerable monument, the excavation was give

arried on at the Sphinx were suspended, and the hole made near the s

eatures and the head-dress of the statue represent in colossal proportions the feat

hat this Pyramid has been entered from this direction is evident from the fact that a ramp-ston

m the very bottommost depths of the subterranean region; and he, the son of Caliph Haroun Al Raschid, and all his crew, did not descend further down the entrance-passage than merely to the level of his own forced hole, which is not subterranean at all. Nor is the credit claimed for any of his Arab successors, who rather allude

ph Al Mamoun made his way by blundering and smashing,-long ages, too, before Mohammed was born, and rather at and about the period of Judah being carried captive to Babylon,-

He, being inspired by Heaven, had foreseen that in future ages the knowledge of this entrance would be forgotten; he therefor

to unriddle the passage in the Sphinx, which leads into the Great Pyramid. The openings in the head and back of the Sphinx were t

ong after this the English were waited upon by Wicananish, a prince of greater wealth and power than any they had yet seen, who invited them to vi

of canoes, and, coming on board, piloted them into the harbour. They found the capital to be at least three times the siz

east by Wicananish; and it is not easy to conceive a more interesting picture of savage life than witne

ed out of huge blocks of timber. The same kind of broad planks covered the whole to keep out the rain; but they were so placed as to be removable at pleasure, either to receive the air and light or to let out the smoke. In the middle of this spacious room were several fires, and

he trees that supported the roof were of a size which would render the mast of a first-rate man-of-war diminutive on a comparison with them; indeed, our curiosity as well as our astonishment was at its utmost stretch when we

eatures of its colossal visage. We ascended by a few steps on the outside; and, after passing the portal, descended down the chin into the house, where we found new matter for wonder in the number of men, w

t, ate, and slept. The chief appeared at the upper end of the room, surrounded by natives of rank, on a small raised platform, round whic

hey could be placed, and, however ghastly such ornaments appeared to European eyes, they were evidently considere

the economy of the table. The servants busily replenished the dishes as they were emptied, and the women picked and opened some bark, which served the purpose of towels. The guests despatched their messes with astonishing rapidity and voracity, and even the chi

of the passage, that it should never be opened till the fulness of time arrived. But to prevent the monument from being broken into by strangers, he instructed the above-mentio